A young man who rode away on one of Ōtorohanga Riding for the Disabled’s horses was quickly corralled by a posse of RDA friends alerted to the attempted theft last week.
Riding bareback on an unshod horse and using a halter made of bailing twine and a short length of garden hose, the person accused of taking the horse didn’t get far.
He was found walking the horse, Coco about two kilometres south of Ōtorohanga,and taken into police custody. The 19-year-old man was released on police bail.
Gwen Buckley from RDA is grateful for the quick response from the community.
“A big thanks to the community. Within 10 minutes we had 10 people out there looking for her and it was because of the sheer number of people going through the streets that we managed to find her nice and quickly.”
The man rode the mare round the paddocks at the Island Reserve, then around town before attempting to walk the horse towards Waitomo, according to a post on the charity’s Facebook page.
Coco was left with tender feet, and a sore mouth from the make shift halter/bridle – and would need time off to recover, Gwen said.
The theft has shocked and upset RDA members who cannot believe some people think it is acceptable to break into their paddocks and abuse and steal one of their horses.
“Coco has been carefully selected and trained by us for years to be gentle, kind and willing in her important work of helping vulnerable tamariki who experience challenges in their weekly riding sessions,” Gwen said.
Ōtorohanga RDA has increased security to ensure the horses’ safety, and appeals for anybody seeing anything out of the ordinary in the paddocks to get in touch, no matter how big or small.
